Entrepreneurs have revealed the impact of being included on BusinessCloud’s GM Rising Stars of Business list.
Following the publication of the expanded 2025 GM Rising Stars of Business ranking on Friday – again in association with GM Business Growth Hub – we spoke with firms which featured both this year and last to ask how the inclusion had benefited them in the last 12 months.
Many also opened up about their growth plans for the future.
A launch event for the 2025 Rising Stars of Business list on 1st May will hear from several entrepreneurs leading the featured businesses, among them Matillion CEO Matthew Scullion, Kids Planet CEO Clare Roberts OBE and Claire Watson, MD, Airmatic.
CGHERO has gained an Innovate UK competition grant since 2024, which allowed it to focus on launching a new ‘game-changing’ tech product for the games market.
“We got a lot of attraction from the list and can’t understate the importance of getting recognised for our efforts, especially when looking to attract investment and customers from in the region,” said Jonathan Lloyd, founder and CEO.
“2025 is a crucial year for us for the business and it is important that we secure the business we need for the product to be able to succeed.”
James Chapman, co-founder at HealthTech Decently – which also featured on the main list in both 2024 and 2025 – added: “Being included helped us raise our profile across the sector and the wider Greater Manchester ecosystem.
“In the last 12 months we have won several new deals with leading UK hospitals off the back of a successful 12-month trial at Salford Royal.”
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Trafford-based Travel Counsellors is another business to again make the main list for 2025.
The fast-growing travel company, which now operates across six countries, has continued to grow in the last year, with the firm surpassing £1bn in sales for the first time in 2024.
It now has a community of over 2,200 independent business owners, with 150 new travel entrepreneurs joining in the last five months, including BBC Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies.
CEO Steve Byrne, who won the People Award at BusinessCloud’s Northern Leaders Event, said: “Being recognised as one of the 2024 Rising Stars of Business was an incredible honour and a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone in our community.
“The recognition also opened doors to new opportunities, enabling us to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and industry leaders across the region who share our commitment to exceptional service and customer experience.”
SaaS employee advocacy firm Vulse was included on the ‘Ones to Watch’ list in 2024 and 2025 and also made the MediaTech 50 innovation ranking last year.
The company has since seen a 2,000% increase in monthly revenue after a planned pivot to enterprise sales.
CEO Rob Illidge (pictured, main image) said: “Appearing on the ‘Ones to Watch’ list has been a substantial boost for Vulse, raising our profile within the industry and among potential investors and partners. It validated our innovative approach to employee advocacy and LinkedIn content creation, reinforcing the credibility of our platform.
“The recognition has led to increased inbound interest from potential clients, collaborations, and investors, helping to accelerate our growth. Being featured on the list has also improved our ability to attract high-quality talent to our team as we scale.
“In the next 12 months, Vulse aims to continue scaling our enterprise sales efforts, targeting £1m in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of 2026. We plan to expand our customer base, strengthening our relationships with major clients while adding new global brands to our portfolio.
“We will continue developing our advanced technology, particularly the tone of voice model, in collaboration with MMU to further improve the scalability and personalisation of our platform.”
Russell Teale is founder and CEO of Vivify, a marketplace which aims to provide communities with access to school facilities.
The firm featured on the main list both this year and last, as well as this year’s EdTech 50 ranking. Teale added: “It is great to be able to demonstrate that we are an exciting organisation that is growing and making a difference, so recognition always helps.
“We are on track to deliver another 50-60% YoY growth. We have added a top CFO to the senior team in Stephanie Potts, formerly of WeBuyAnyCar and ANS Group.
“We have also scaled up our tech team to drive further development of our platforms with ambitions to deliver more products into the education sector, and we are profitable with plans to scale our business rapidly to meet the needs of schools and communities.”
Arcube helps airlines collect and analyse overlooked customer data to create hyper-personalised and engaging loyalty programmes. It graduated to the main list this year after featuring as a ‘One to Watch’ in 2024.
Harvey Lowe, co-founder and COO, said: “Being featured on the ‘Ones to Watch’ list gave Arcube credibility at a crucial stage. It helped us stand out in conversations with airlines, investors, and partners – opening doors, accelerating trust, and reinforcing that we’re solving a real and urgent problem in the industry.
“Over the past year, Arcube has made significant strides. We closed a $1.5m funding round with investment from multiple airlines and strategic angels.
“We redeveloped our MVP built for Etihad Airways to make it compatible with all airline tech stacks and business models, to ensure that it’s scalable for all the 60+ airlines we have in conversations currently.”
The 2025 GM Rising Stars of Business list featured 200 businesses on the main list as well as 40 companies as ‘Ones to Watch’.
It champions companies from the 10 local authority areas of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
Registrations are now open for a launch event for the list on 1st May – you can sign up for free here – before a series of sector-specific roundtables.
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